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3 FTC Officials Sharply Criticize Anti-Tesla Laws

In an unprecedented movie, three officials for the Federal Trade Commission penned an open letter sharply criticizing anti-Tesla legislation in several states. While the opinions expressed are their own, and not that of the FTC, it puts additional pressure on dealership lobbyists looking to prevent Tesla’s direct sales model from spreading.

Published on the FTC’s “Competition Matters” blog, Andy Gavil, Debbie Feinstein, and Marty Gaynor co-authored this open letter which scathingly calls out dealership lobbyists for defending protectionist laws in places like New Jersey. The whole thing is well worth reading, though I picked out some choice quotes that put the ridiculousness of the dealer lobbyists’ efforts in perspective.

“Out of 15 million cars sold in the U.S. in 2013, Tesla accounted for a little over 22,000. This hardly presents a serious competitive threat to established dealers.”

But wait, there’s more!

“Dealers contend that it is important for regulators to prevent abuses of local dealers. This rationale appears unsupported, however, with respect to blanket prohibitions of direct sales by manufacturers. And, in any event, it has no relevance to companies like Tesla. It has never had any independent dealers and reportedly does not want them.”

And most damning of all…

“We hope lawmakers will recognize efforts by auto dealers and others to bar new sources of competition for what they are—expressions of a lack of confidence in the competitive process that can only make consumers worse off.”

About the Author

Christopher DeMorro A writer and gearhead who loves all things automotive, from hybrids to HEMIs, Chris can be found wrenching or writing- or else, he's running, because he's one of those crazy people who gets enjoyment from running insane distances.

Tesla Motor Inc.’s (TSLA) can sell model directly supported by three staff members from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), namely Andy Gavil, Deborah Feinstein, and Martin Gaynor.The FTC’s support for Tesla is another major success in its efforts to stabilize and expand its operations across the country
….http://bit.ly/1pNOwyX

Kiwiiano

‘Like’ buttons were always pretty pointless without a ‘Dislike’ button and probably a ‘Couldn’t care less’ as well.
I wonder how much the dealers had to pay to get that legislation rammed through?

dbr2

I was looking for a “like” button for the article. Glad some people with some influence are at least unofficially stating the obvious…

http://zacharyshahan.com/ Zachary Shahan

Sorry, just a “Share” button, since “like” buttons don’t do a whole lot on Facebook these days.

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